Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Frame by frame, an industry comes to life

Frame by frame, an industry comes to life

It can take professional animators two months to make one minute of video. Photo supplied
It can take professional animators two months to make one minute of video. Photo supplied

Frame by frame, an industry comes to life

In a small studio on the leafy campus of Battambang’s Phare Ponleu Selpak, students are bringing pictures to life.

The school has graduated four students since 2013, and 10 more are still studying. It now receives support from the Phare Creative Studio (PCS), which started producing commercial work in August.

While it’s not the first animation studio in the Kingdom, PCS is the first to be owned by a Cambodian social enterprise, and it promises to train future generations free of charge.

Animation team manager and animator Poy Chhunly, who also founded the Cambodian Animation Studio academy in Battambang, began working as an animator in 2002 after studying painting at Phare. Inspired by cartoons like Tom and Jerry, he was self-taught until he had the opportunity to take part in a month-long French workshop.

“I wondered how people could make each painting moveable, and it was the first time for me to discover animation as an idea,” he says. “I didn’t just want to be a normal painter. I wanted to make my paintings come alive.”

Thanks to the workshop and connections made at Phare Ponleu Selpak, Chhunly eventually earned a scholarship to study animation for three years at Ecole Pivaut in 2010. By then, his skills had been recognised: he won gold at the 2007 Cambofest film festival for his animated piece Kids Drink Dirty Water.

“After I posted this video on social media, many people contacted me to learn animation, but we didn’t have a proper class at that time,” he says.

Animator Poy Chhunly.
Animator Poy Chhunly. Athena Zelandonii

Although he had started teaching an animation team that year, it wasn’t until 2013 that Chhunly and his team received, through Phare Ponleu Selpak, a four-year aid package from the French Development Agency (AFD) and French development NGO CCFD. They renamed the group Phare Creative Studios and started building the studio.

When Phare Ponleu Selpak originally offered free animation classes in 2013, just four students registered, Chhunly says. Those graduates now need career opportunities, which PCS is there to offer. Chhunly hopes that these first four will share the benefits of their success to support Phare through funds made at the studio. After all, they are linked through the education program.

Phare’s animation program now has four teachers and, like animation itself, their job is one of careful patience. Most of the training is computer-based.

“We use computers more now because it does not waste paper,” Chhunly says. “But to make animation, it depends on professional skills. If the students are professional, they can make it fast, but if not, it takes so long.”

Even with professionalism, “one person can spend two months to animate one minute of video”, he says.

Since 2007, Chhunly has worked with a range of clients including international organisations such as Oxfam Cambodia and Transparency International as well as government bodies such as the Anti-Corruption Unit. PCS is now handling the production of a video for Handicap International, but it is still in the draft phase.

While animation might not be new in many other countries, Chhunly is happy to see the industry take off in Cambodia. “Most [animators] might think the same way as me. If they like animation, they must have high commitment and ambition, because it is just not for fun during the production stage. I am happy if I see more people pursuing an animation career,” he says.

For Chhunly, picking up animation is like going to military school: it requires speed, rigour and discipline.

“If [students] don’t have ambition, they would run away from class,” he says, adding that he hopes the public will see the value of arts such as animation. “I believe that people will value these artistic concepts: performance, painting, or film,” he says.

MOST VIEWED

  • 12th Cambodia int’l film festival to see return of Hollywood star

    Phnom Penh is set to come alive with the magic of cinema as the highly anticipated 12th Cambodia International Film Festival (CIFF) takes centre stage. Boasting an impressive line-up of 188 films from 23 countries, including captivating shorts, feature films, documentaries and animation, the festival promises an

  • Brawl marrs football final as Indonesian take gold in seven goal thriller

    The Indonesian men's U22 men national football team were crowned champions of the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia, defeating Thailand 5-2 in extra time on May 16 at Olympic National Stadium in Phnom Penh. The match was marred by an ugly incident that occured in the 91

  • Bareknuckle champion wants Kun Khmer fighter

    Dave Leduc, who is the current openweight Lethwei boxing champion in Myanmar, has announced that he will travel to Cambodia this year to challenge SEA Games gold medallist Prum Samnang any time that is convenient, after their planned match later this month in Slovakia was

  • Candlelight Party disqualified from July general election

    The National Election Committee (NEC) has disqualified the Candlelight Party (CP) from contesting the upcoming general election, citing a lack of valid documentation. NEC spokesman Khorn Keomono said the CP failed to fulfil one of the three main requirements: including original documentation proving their registration

  • Thong Khon calls for orderly SEA Games closing ceremony

    Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism and permanent vice-president of the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC), calls on all people who have received tickets to the May 17 closing ceremony of the biennial multi-sports extravaganza at the Morodok Techo National Stadium to ensure that the event

  • 1.4 billion dollar Phnom Penh-Bavet expressway due in four years

    The Government, through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, has officially signed a public-private partnership agreement with a private company for the construction of a Phnom Penh-Bavet Expressway project that will connect the capital to Svay Rieng province. The budget for the project is